DISTRICT PROFILE GOPALGANJ INTRODUCTION Gopalganj district is one of the thirty-eight administrative districts of Bihar. Gopalganj sub-division was notified as a district on October 2, 1973. Gopalganj district falls in Saran division. Gopalganj is bounded by the districts of Patna, Samastipur, Khagaria, Munger and Lakhisarai. The river flowing through Gopalganj district is Gandak. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND The composite Saran district lies on one of the main lines of the eastwards progression of the Aryans. According to the Vedic traditions, Videhas marched eastwards from the Saraswati and made the eastern banks of river Gandak their home. After crossing river Gandak, the Videhas founded a powerful kingdom on its eastern bank. It is likely that some of them settled in Saran, while the majority of them crossed the river Gandak. In pre- historic times, the present districts of Gopalganj and Siwan up to the bank of river Saryu which bounds Siwan district on its south, was a part of Nepal. The name Siwan means the boundary i.e. the southern boundary of the erstwhile Nepal kingdom. The history of Gopalganj is the history of Saran district. The ancient state of "Mallyas“ served as the frontier of Gopalganj. Saran was part of Kaushal kingdom. During the medieval period, Gopalganj came under the control of the Afghans and Mughals. Under the British, the district of Gopalganj was a Kingdom of Maharaja Fateh Shahi of Hussaipur. Until 1875 A.D., the tiny hamlet of Gopalganj was an Anchal within the erstwhile Saran district. In 1875, Gopalganj Anchal was upgraded to the status of a sub- division of the erstwhile Saran district. Erstwhile Saran district consisted of the three sub-divisions of Sadar, Siwan and Gopalganj. Sub-division Gopalganj was further elevated as a full-fledged independent revenue district on 2nd October, 1973. ADMINISTRATIVE Gopalganj town is the district headquarters of Gopalganj district. Gopalganj district comprises of 2 sub-divisions, namely Hathwa & Gopalganj. There are 14 municipal blocks. Blocks: Bhore, Gopalganj, Manjha, Uchakagaon, Kuchaikot, Kateya, Vijayeepur, Barauli, Hathua, Bikunthpur, Phulwaria, Thawe, Panchdevari, Sindhwalia. Total no. of revenue villages in Gopalganj district: 1564 ECONOMIC PROFILE Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy, hence Gopalganj district is called the stock of food grains Gopalganj is an important agricultural center in north Bihar, known for production of paddy, wheat, maize, green vegetables, fish, sugar cane, milk and milk products. Gopalganj is one of the largest sugarcane producing districts in India and has also made advances in the field of horticulture. It is the best producer of tobacco in the country. Gopalganj market is famous for trade of sugarcane, pulses, agriculture and grains. Food processing industry in a viable option to improve the economy here. Per Capita Gross State and District Domestic Product 13404 15000 11815 10237 11311 9832 10000 8202 6677 6587 6726 7054 5000 0 2006-07 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 Per Capita Gross District Domestic Product Per Capita Gross State Domestic Product Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Govt. of Bihar GEOGRAPHIC Coordinates Latitude: 26º 12' to 26º 39‘ North Longitude: 83º 54‘ to 84º 55' East Temperature 45° C (Max.) 10° C (Min.) Average rainfall 290 mm Area 2033 sq. km Altitude 65 meters DEMOGRAPHIC Population 25,58,037 Population density 1300 per sq km Population growth 18.83% Sex ratio 1015 per 1000 male Literacy rate 67.04% Languages spoken Hindi, Bhojpuri, Urdu INDUSTRIAL Registered industrial units 346 Registered medium & large units 00 Total industrial units NA No. of industrial areas Nil Types of industries Agro based, Jute & Jute Based, Ready Made Garments & Embroidery, Wood/ wooden based furniture, Paper & Paper Products, Leather Based, Chemical Based, Mineral Based, Metal based, Electrical Machinery and Transport Equipment, Repairing & servicing. Source: MSME – DI Muzaffarpur, official website of district INVESTMENT Gopalganj district has a total investment of Rs. 959 lakhs from the registered units. These registered units provide employment to 3201 employees. Among the registered units, most of them are in agro based, repairing and servicing and wooden based industries. Gopalganj district has four sugar mills- three of which located at Harakhua, Sidhwalia and Sasamusa are private and one sugar mill is owned by government. Gopalganj has a distillery at Mirganj and vegetable oil extracting mills. Investment (Rs. In Lakhs) 450 400 350 300 250 200 150 100 50 0 Source: MSME – DI Muzaffarpur INDUSTRIAL PROFILE Major industries in Gopalganj district are agro based, repairing and servicing and wooden based industries. Gopalganj has several secondary and tertiary industries based on agriculture, such as cold- storages, sugar factories and vegetable oil mills Potential areas in the service industry are for computer training institutes, transportation, hotels/ restaurants, beauty parlor. Potential areas for MSMEs are agro based products, water treatment plants, readymade garments, restaurants, beauty parlour, rice mil, etc. INDUSTRIES AT A GLANCE Registered industrial units 346 Total industrial units 346 Registered medium & large units - Estimated avg. no. of daily workers employed in small 06 scale industries Employment in large and medium industries NA No. of industrial area Nil EXISTING MICRO & SMALL ENTERPRISES AND ARTISAN UNITS Type of industry No. of Units Investment (Rs. Lakh) Agro based 74 406 Jute & jute based 2 30 Ready-made garments & embroidery 24 30 Wood/wooden based furniture 70 150 Paper & paper products 1 2 Leather based 3 0 Chemical/chemical based 4 16 Mineral based 2 13 Metal based (Steel Fab.) 32 132 Electrical machinery and transport equipment 1 6 Repairing & servicing 96 72 Others 37 72 Total 346 929 Source: MSME – DI Muzaffarpur INFRASTRUCTURE No. of hospitals and health centers: 169 No. of commercial banks and financial products: 40 Educational institutes No. of Primary school – 590 No. of Middle school – 219 No. of secondary and senior secondary school – 100 No. of colleges – 05 No. of Technical University/ Polytechnic/ ITI - 02 AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY Gopalganj is an important agricultural center of north Bihar. It is full of greenery and cultivable land The land is highly fertile, agriculture is booming and produce is bumper. Paddy, wheat, maize, green vegetables, fish, sugar cane, milk and milk products are the major agricultural products of Gopalganj district. The sandy-lomey soil of Gopalganj is suited for growing sugarcane-crop, hence Gopalganj is one of the largest sugarcane producers of India. Gopalganj district has great potential for growth in food processing sector. LARGE SCALE INDUSTRY/ PUBLIC SECTOR UNDERTAKING Micro & Small Potential Service Major Existing Clusters Enterprise Enterprises •Agro based • To be identified •Computer training industries, Institutes • Wood and wooden •Transportation based furniture •Hotels/Restaurants • Repairing and •Beauty parlor servicing STEPS TO SETUP MSMEs S. No. Type of assistance Name and address of agencies 1. Provisional Registration Certificate DIC, Gopalganj ( EM-1) & Permanent Registration Certificate ( EM-II) 2. Identification of Project Profiles, MSME-DI, Goshala Road, Ramna, techno-economic and managerial Muzaffarpur consultancy services, market survey and economic survey reports. 3. Land and Industrial shed DIC, GOPALGANJ 4. Financial Assistance Banks/ Lead Bank, GOPALGANJ 5. For raw materials under Govt. NSIC, Patna Supply 6. Plant and machinery under hire/ NSIC, Patna, DIC, GOPALGANJ, purchase basis. MSME-DI, Goshala Road, Ramna, Muzaffarpur 7. Power/ Electricity Executive Engineer, BSEB,GOPALGANJ 8. Technical Know–how. MSME-DI, MUZAFFARPUR, / DIC GOPALGANJ 9. Quality & Standard BIS, PATNA 10. Marketing /Export Assistance MSME-DI, Goshala Road, Ramna, Muzaffarpur Source: MSME – DI Muzaffarpur TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE •Connected by • State highways • Nearest airport Rail with a and Road Link is Sabeya station at district (Hathua) 30 Gopalganj Kms. Road headquarters at Airport Railway Gopalganj to all 14 blocks. National Highway (No 28) passes through Gopalganj. EDUCATION Gopalganj has schools and colleges to meet the requirements of basic education. Some of the Educational institutes are D.A.V. School St. Josheph School East and West School Kendriya Vidyalaya Sainik School Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Hari Shankar Singh Public School HERITAGE & TOURISM Dighwa-Dubauli: It is an ancient archaeological site and two extraordinary pyramidal- shaped mounds made of clay mixed with small fragments of brick and pottery were found here. These mounds are said to have been the works of Chero-Chai-also called Cheros, the powerful aboriginal race which now inhabits the hills to the south of river Ganges Thawe: In this village is the remains of a fort, the remains of which is obscure. The palace of Hathwa Maharaj is in decadence. Close by is a temple of Goddess Durga within whose precincts is a tree in the shape of a cross, the botanical family of which has not yet been identified. Shri Pitambara Peeth: It is a Shakti Peetha of Bagalamukhi situated at Kuchaikote, 15km from Gopalganj In Hinduism, Bagalamukhi is one of the ten Mahavidyas, the great wisdom. Bagalamukhi Devi, the crane-faced Goddess bangs devotee's misconceptions and delusions with a bludgeon she holds in her hand. Husepur: This village situated on the bank of river Jharni was previously the seat of Maharaja of Hathwa. The Hathwa fort built of bricks with a moat around, is extant but is in ruins. Lakri Dargah: It is a mausoleum of Shah Arzan-a saint who had set up a religious establishment here which was endowed by the Emperor Aurangazeb. Other places of tourist attraction are Bhuri Shrawan Ashram, Dhurna Kund and Amya village where Lord Buddha stayed while on his way to Kushinagar after getting enlightenment. Industries Department 2nd Floor, Vikas Bhawan, Bailey Road, Patna, Bihar 800 015 Udyog Mitra, Dept. of Industries Govt. of Bihar Ground Floor, Indira Bhawan, RCS Path, Patna, Bihar 800 001. Tel : +91 612 2532695 Fax : +91 612 2532695 Email: [email protected] www.udyogmitrabihar.com .